management and cryptocurrency , are rising significantly in both the level of importance and the sense of urgency. Firms and regulatory agencies alike expressed concern about three things in the workforce: 1. Attracting and developing new talent 2. The impact of a hybrid workplace 3. The accelerating loss of expertise as the confluence of the baby boom generation and the great resignation trend meet Specifically called out was the dual hit of losing tenured employees who can manage the more complex challenges and provide mentorship to new employees. Everyone recognizes that mentor supported informal learning activities pass on expertise. This sharing is critical to developing the next cohort of audit and risk managers. In addition, it was apparent that most firms lack a key recruiting tool to fill current and future business. That tool is a description of the formal career development and advancement track which the current generation of new employees expect to see. Though some are beginning to address this, the regulators were the only group we visited that could produce a multi-year learning curriculum to demonstrate what and how the new hire is supported for success and advancement in the risk management space during the recruiting process. The impact of cryptocurrency on the firms represented at the conference is evolving rapidly. The consensus among participants is that job vacancies in the Wealth Management and Trust line of
proactively providing cryptocurrency and digital tokens is not high on the product development priority list. However, several firms have or are moving to establish house accounts with crypto-asset platforms as estate settlement activities increasingly require liquidating these assets to protect beneficiaries from volatility and establish market values for estate tax purposes. Regulators reminded participants that the same expectations of managing any first, second and third- level vendor relationship and ongoing due diligence applies to crypto-asset platforms. These platforms are not regulated exchanges but service providers. Firms must also have robust policies and procedures related to crypto-assets, codifying both the actions to take when delivering the firm’s services and for selecting and monitoring the vendor for these types of assets. We continue to see emerging impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, it has not stopped changes in the marketplace or technological advancements or slowed the pace of change or the associated risks that these professionals face. Consequently, our complicated business operating in an ever more complex environment continues to need bright, dedicated risk managers and regulators working together to help protect our economic future.
Bill Trigleth Executive Director Certifications
I recently connected with peers and clients at the Fiduciary Risk Management Conference (FIRMA) in Nashville, TN. Operations Managers, Risk Management Officers, Compliance professionals, and federal and state regulators representing banks, brokerage, and trust fiduciary activities across the financial services industry connected and analyzed the critical issues facing our industry. As standard for any FIRMA conference, a wide range of risks were covered by specific experts and peer and regulator panels provided insight into the current best practices dealing with these challenges. Keynote topics focused on identifying and managing cyber security risks, technology advances , economic conditions, regulatory audits and exams, changes to legislation and fiduciary rules, and dealing with change. Presentations added clarity and brought out a more nuanced understanding of the risks and how they should be addressed. (See Trends in Audit, Risk Management, and Compliance) While most topics presented are perennial, the issues of workforce
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